Sol Republic Relays In-Ear Sports Headphone Review

Over just a few years Sol Republic has made a huge name for themselves in the headphone market, and rightfully so. The Sol Republics look great, sound great, and are well built, plus the company knows how to market (professor meowington, Michael Phelps). The latest Sol Republic Relays aren’t just the best new in-ear gym headphones to hit the market, they may be the best everyday headphones to hit the market. Read on, Relays pack some great features.

The Sol Republic are in-ear headphones with a somewhat unique design. The cable is a bit thicker than average, and it’s good at preventing tangles. There’s your standard in-line remote control with universal button and microphone. There’s one-button and three-button versions of Relays, the one-button is more universally compatible and the three-button has volume buttons. It’s a sleek remote and the universal button is easy to press to control music, phone calls, and voice activation. The actual earbuds are the real differentiator. They use regular silicon ear tips, but the shape of the bud is designed to fill your ear canal. Around the back of the earbud is built-in a rubberized fit cushion. This interesting design has been labeled “FreeFlex Technology” and Sol Republic has a patent pending on it.

The design of the Relays look awesome, but they’re quite functional. The buds stay in ear perfectly, they rarely need to be adjusted or popped back in. This is coming from someone that has the worst luck with earbuds staying in. The FreeFlex Technology also helps create a great seal, which contributes to the awesome sound experience.

The Sol Republic Relays are water and sweat resistant! Woo! Now they’re officially amazing sports/gym headphones.

The Relays are powered by Sol Republics i5 Sound Engines which is intended to crank out a full range spectrum with balance and detail across genres. The audio quality is great. They’re a bit on the bassy side, but they’re very clear and rich in detail. The mids are well balanced and the highs are precise. They’re very fair on all sorts of music genres and they’re kind to streaming audio. They may not hit audiophile expectations, but they’re awesome for the price.

Verdict

The Sol Republic Relays have it all. You can wear them during extreme activity and not worry about them falling out or breaking from sweat, and you can wear them any other time and appreciate their rich audio experience. There’s a one-year warranty so if you’re planning on putting their sweat resistance to the test, make sure you do it within that first year. Offering a one-button and three-button version of the Relays was a smart idea. If you’re only using Apple devices then buy the three-button and utilize the inline volume buttons. If you want button controls on Android, Windows, or Blackberry, then buy the one-button model. The headphones will always work, but the buttons may not. The price is pretty fair at $79.99, we expected these headphones to exceed the $100 mark. They sound a lot better then Monster’s iSport Intensity Gym headphones, and those are $100. For now, the Sol Republic Relays are only available from SolRepublic.com.

The Good:Sweat/Water resistant, Lightweight, Comfortable, Stay in-ear, Great seal, Inline ControlTalk with microphone, 1-button and 3-button versions, Including carrying case, Rich audioThe Bad: May be a bit bassy for some